Idris Quotes & Sayings

The long and short of it is that I am now in a position in England to green light movies, and that's really excellent - not high-budget movies, but movies none the less. — Idris Elba

I was on a well-beaten path of actors - what we all call 'the Law and Order route'. I spent two years of auditioning for everything ... and then 'The Wire' came up. — Idris Elba

If you go to Africa and you're white, you're probably not going to get that much work either. But the fact is that there is a longer history of black integration in the U.S. I don't have any resentment about this: I did the maths, calculated it against my ambition and decided to leave England. — Idris Elba

I was into Spider Man when I was a kid and that was the only comic I've ever read. — Idris Elba

Working at BBC, at the head of one of the top dramas, is a tradition for great actors. — Idris Elba

Idris is fine. Great, even. But this is where we live. — Cassandra Clare

But the person who stepped out of the front door was tall and thin, with short, spiky dark hair. he was wearing a gold mesh vest and a pair of silk pajama pants. He regarded Clary with mild interest, puffing gently on a fantastically large pipe as he did so. Though he looked nothing at all like a Viking, he was instantly and totally familiar.
Magnus Bane — Cassandra Clare

I watch my daughter wanting to be like other kids and getting upset that she's not. But I always try and instill in her the idea that she's perfect as she is. — Idris Elba

In her smile, Idris sees how little of the world he has known, even at thirty-five years of age, its savageness, its cruelty, its boundless brutality. — Khaled Hosseini

I tend to stay away from the comics. — Idris Elba

I always wanted to make an abstract photograph. I would photograph walls, sports interiors, marks on the walls people made. Even looking back it makes so much sense. It's like it was a fight against the photograph. — Idris Khan

Whether it's music or acting, that creativity all comes from the same source. — Idris Elba

I was in The Wire for three years, and I left at the highlight of that. — Idris Elba

Television, for me, is a medium that I'm probably always going to be attached to, one way or another. — Idris Elba

I have one of these bodies. When I was younger, I could never put weight on, and now that I'm a little older, there's a natural sort of chubbiness coming. But honestly, if I work out for a week, it drops off in no time. — Idris Elba

My definition of bad-ass is that I'm a force of nature and true spirit. I'm self-admitting that, and it sounds vain to say that, but I am. — Idris Elba

You watch yourself age and it's hard to feel like a sex symbol. — Idris Elba

I come from an era, in my world, where you just had to define yourself as who you are and what you do. I happen to be an actor. I happen to be someone that loves to act, that also likes music, that also likes to speak, and that also has an opinion. — Idris Elba

As an actor, you're trained to do the right thing, be politically correct, say your lines, say the right thing about the people you're working with. — Idris Elba

I don't get recognised that much yet in London, but when I do I get a real sense of achievement. — Idris Elba

The Doctor: Sorry, do you have a name?
Idris: Seven hundred years and finally he asks.
The Doctor: But what do I call you?
Idris: I think you call me ... Sexy?
The Doctor: [embarrassed] Only when we're alone.
Idris: We are alone.
The Doctor: Oh. Come on then, Sexy. — Neil Gaiman

Looking back on her recent life, she felt frustrated at her frequent helplessness. And that felt like part of whom she really was. The woman who would do anything to be sure she wasn't helpless. That was why she'd studied so hard with the tutors in Idris. That was also why she wanted to learn how to Awaken. She — Brandon Sanderson

The adrenaline feeling of jumping out of cliffs and bikes and all of that is very specific to the film. In 'Pac Rim' I'm not doing that so much. There isn't that touch stonework for me in it, but there is a lot of action. — Idris Elba

Mr. Idris Elba is amazing! He happens to be British, but what's funny about him is that when he's speaking in his American dialect, he looks like he's a brother from the 'hood. But as soon as he brings out that English thing, I'm like, 'Woo! You look like you're from London. Oh my God!' It's like everything on him changes. He's so cool! — Tasha Smith

Television has shied away from being too dark, because so much has happened to us recently here in the West, and people are sort of wanting to see more uplifting sorts of things. — Idris Elba

I would never be fearful of any character. — Idris Elba

I'm a little sheepish about it. Whenever I meet fans and they're like, 'Oh, you're so sexy,' I just don't get that. There's no way one man can be universally sexy. — Idris Elba

Life is a constant process of change with which views and values must keep up. — Yusuf Idris

The one album I can't live without is called 'Cumbolo' by a band called Culture. Every song on their album is deep, but there's one in particular called 'This Train.' I have a tattoo of the lyrics on my left arm. — Idris Elba

I'd rather a young black actor read about success as opposed to how tough it was. I get these roles because I can act and that's it. Hopefully that's it. — Idris Elba

When I was a kid, I thought it was tough. — Idris Elba

Biting's excellent. It's like kissing - only there is a winner. — Neil Gaiman

My Father always told me that a fool at 40 is a fool for life. — Idris Elba

I don't have a life of my own. I've put myself and my life at the service of the people. If necessity dictates I run, I run.. go to jail, I go to jail.. die, I die.My private aspirations are exactly the general aspirations of the people. — Yusuf Idris

Bond? It is a bit like saying, 'Do you want to play Superman?' Anyone would dream of it. It's one of the most coveted roles in film. I'd be honoured. But I don't know if it will actually happen. I'm just happy with the idea of being associated with it. It's nice there's a lot of good will. — Idris Elba

Yeah, I know, any time you hear an actor say, 'I do music', you cringe. But I want to be gradual with my music. I want to earn my stripes. — Idris Elba

I was always a real athletic kid. Then when I got older, I just figured it was part of life to keep training. — Idris Elba

I'm an ambitious person. I never consider myself in competition with anyone, and I'm not saying that from an arrogant standpoint, it's just that my journey started so, so long ago, and I'm still on it and I won't stand still. — Idris Elba

People expect me to be that guy. But I'm more east London boy than east Baltimore. — Idris Elba

Did you know we were leaving for Idris?" "Catarina told me she'd been summoned to make a portal. I guessed," Magnus said wryly. "I was a little surprised you hadn't called or texted to tell me you were going away."
"You never answer my calls or texts," said Alec.
"That hasn't stopped you before."
"Everyone gives up eventually," Alec said. "Besides, Jace broke my phone."
Magnus huffed a laughter. "Oh, Alexander."
"What?" alec asked, honestly puzzled.
"you're just
You're so
I really want to kiss you," Magnus said abruptly, and then shook his head. "See this is why I haven't been willing to see you. — Cassandra Clare

I am with you. I'm not going anywhere."
"Is there anything special you want to see? Paris? Budapest? The Leaning Tower of Pisa?"
Only if it falls on Sebastian's head, she thought. "Can we travel to Idris? I mean, I guess, can the apartment travel there?"
"It can't get past the wards." His hand traced a path down her cheek. "You know,I really missed you."
"You mean you haven't been going on romantic dates with Sebastian while you've been away from me?"
"I tried", Jace said, "but no matter how liquored up you get him , he just won't put out. — Cassandra Clare

Are there differences between black actors' opportunities and white actors' opportunities? Yes, there are. It's been said. — Idris Elba

You know, when I first met
you, in Idris, I had hopes - I had thought you would be like me. And when you were
nothing like me, I hated you. And then, when I was brought back, and Jace told me what
you did, I realized that I had been wrong. You are like me. — Cassandra Clare

I was cast in 'Thor' and I'm cast as a Nordic god. If you know anything about the Nords, they don't look like me but there you go. I think that's a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see multi-level casting. I think we will see that, and I think that's good. — Idris Elba

Recently, I can't seem to take a straight photograph without thinking that what I am photographing won't be the final image - like the world in front of me is not good enough or something. — Idris Khan

I knew that if I wanted to be all I could be, I would have to go to the U.S. It took three years to get the accent right. — Idris Elba

I'll always be attached to telly in one way or another, whether it's a character or producer or director, I just love the medium. — Idris Elba

I did green screen for the first time! I wouldn't like to do a whole movie of green screen, though. You kind of forget the plot a little - like being in a Broadway play and doing it over and over and forgetting your line halfway through. — Idris Elba

I don't have a place that I call home at the moment because there's no point. I mean, I'm a traveling circus for a while. It's weird. Like, if I wanted to go home, there's nowhere to go. I just go to a hotel. But I've kind of gotten used to it. — Idris Elba

Even when I went to America I didn't work for four years. It wasn't like I came to New York and it was the land of milk and honey. It was just as much of a hard graft. But there's a lot more opportunity nowadays across the board for actors, no matter what color you are, with the Internet and small productions. — Idris Elba

I was really ambitious, so I was innovative. I was one of the first DJs to do live calls, 'cause I found this phone device that would pick up other people's voices. — Idris Elba

The audience loves it when you pay attention to details. — Idris Elba

If you are going to call a film a 'black film' then you have to make a film that represents everyone that's black, which is almost impossible. That is why white films are not called white films, they are just called 'films.' — Idris Elba

Nobody likes a celebrity DJ for the sake of style, so I don't do that - I try to be good at what I do. It's all about resetting, it's my escape. It is work, it's a job, but I just love doing it. — Idris Elba

Twenty or 30 years from now, I'm going to be on a beach in Jamaica. — Idris Elba

I've always had ambition, and the acting was successful and put my name on the map, but it was never the plan to stop there. — Idris Elba

I did a rendition of 'Billie Jean' which is on my Soundcloud. I put it on Twitter, and it got about 3000 hits that day. — Idris Elba

There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character? — Idris Elba

Waking up in TRUTH is so much better than living in a lie. — Idris Elba

I love working. I'm a workaholic and I'm really privileged for some of the jobs I get offered and so I just want to keep going. — Idris Elba

I think 'The Wire' really is relatable. It reflects an ongoing issue across America, about inaccuracies in major cities between rich and the poor and some of the things that go on behind the red tape of council and government bodies. — Idris Elba

I'm not a political artist in any way, but if an idea takes me somewhere or something is emotionally impactful, I find a way to make a painting that encapsulates it. — Idris Khan

You're not going," he said as soon as she'd finished. "If I have to tie you up and sit on you until this insane whim of yours passes, you are not going to Idris." - Jace — Cassandra Clare

Why can't I go to Idris with you, then? Because it's not safe for you there O and it's safe for me here? I've been nearly killed almost a dozen times in the past month. That's because Valentine has been concentrating on the two Mortal Instruments that were here. He's going to shift his focus to Idris now. We all know it
We're hardly as certain of anything as all that. And the Clave wants to meet Clarissa. You know that, Jace. The Clave can screw itself. — Cassandra Clare

I wasn't bad at school, but I was never a bookworm. — Idris Elba

Not obsessed with particularly Nike, but sneakers in general. I love them. — Idris Elba

As much as it's nice to step into that massive world of Hollywood and be a big, famous actor, I prefer the career of actors that have really chosen smartly and done really amazing performances. Maybe they're not as known, but their careers are a bit more interesting. — Idris Elba

It's really funny because the same people who loved me as Stringer Bell were the same people that were watching 'Daddy's Little Girls' literally in tears. — Idris Elba

Every single film I've done, it's about the character. — Idris Elba

There's the argument that you can relate to someone who's completely unrelatable. In the way that a director shows you his imagination on a film, then I get to show you my imagination in a big dumb character. — Idris Elba

I've always been DJing; it's just I'm making more of a push for it, making it more public. — Idris Elba

I'm tactile, very tactile. A woman who has really nice, looked-after skin is such a turn-on for me. It's always sexy. — Idris Elba

Idris Elba is a grand actor. He's very larger than life; he's bigger than life. — Nicolas Cage

The role of my agent has just been to get me in the room. If I can get in the room - say the character is just a charming man who lives next door - then I'll walk in there and be as charming as I can and they will think to themselves, 'I don't see why we can't cast him.' — Idris Elba

The ordinary, utterly mundane reason behind the massacre makes it somehow more terrible, and far more depressing. The word 'senseless' springs to mind, and Idris thwarts it. It's what people always say. A senseless act of violence. A senseless murder. As if you could commit sensible murder. — Khaled Hosseini

If I was gonna go to jail, I don't want to go to jail for stealing a bottle of water. I'll steal that $20 million. At least then it was worth it. — Idris Elba

Emma looked across the room and met Clary's green gaze with her own. She thought of Clary kneeling in front of her in Idris, holding her hands, complimenting Cortana. She thought of how the kindnesses that were shown to children were things they never forgot. — Cassandra Clare

Go to Idris. You're safer there, but don't be trusting, and don't let your guard down. I need you to live. — Cassandra Clare

We work through this together, remember? No shutting me out. No epic sulks."
"I was figuring I could sulk for Idris in the next Olympics," Jace said ...
"You and Alec could go for pair sulking," said Clary with a smile. "You'd get the gold. — Cassandra Clare

When you come from an under-privileged background, oftentimes, you feel a little overwhelmed by your education or your lack of. — Idris Elba

It's actually quite criminal how 'The Wire' was systematically ignored. — Idris Elba

When I look at my body of work, I've played a lot of characters who are morally conflicted - 'I'm right, no I'm wrong, I don't know what to do!' I want to play more characters who don't care as much, and who aren't as measured. They are what they are, no apologies. — Idris Elba

The Doctor: Hello, I've come to see the Lord Mayor.
Idris Hopper: Have you got an appointment?
The Doctor: No, just an old friend passing by, bit of a surprise. Can't wait to see her face!
Idris Hopper: Well, she's just having a cup of tea.
The Doctor: Just go in there and tell her "the Doctor" would like to see her.
Idris Hopper: "The Doctor" who?
The Doctor: Just "The Doctor". Tell her exactly that, "The Doctor".
Idris Hopper: Hang on a tic.
[Idris goes inside. There is the sound of a teacup smashing and Idris returns.]
Idris Hopper: The Lord Mayor says "thank you f-for popping by." She'd love to have a chat, but, um, she's up to her eyes in paperwork. Perhaps you would like to make an appointment for next week ...
The Doctor: [happily] She's climbing out the window, isn't she?
Idris Hopper: Yes, she is. — Russell T. Davies

I get criticized for taking roles in films like 'Ghost Rider 2', but if you look at my resume, dude, I've mixed it up as much as I can. — Idris Elba

Go forth and light the lights of war — Cassandra Clare

It was deeply important for me to understand where Mandela came from. Because we know where he was going, and that's a famous story, but who was he? Where did he come from? What was his upbringing? — Idris Elba

People watch three or four episodes at a time of their shows. — Idris Elba

Actors tend to not know how their performances are going to actually be used. Even though the script says one thing, in the edit, it can be something else. — Idris Elba

Because I was big, I didn't have to listen to anyone doubting me. I was just considered good at football or whatever, there were no questions about it. — Idris Elba

The English are good at bad guys - the James Bond-style villain, cunning, slow-burning. The Americans are much more obvious about it. — Idris Elba

Idris: Are all people like this?
The Doctor: Like what?
Idris: So much bigger on the inside. — Neil Gaiman

It could be Grammy night, Oscar night, whatever - I don't feel the pressure to be there. — Idris Elba

Now there are certain things you have to prepare - like dialect and special skills. But in the moment, interaction between two characters on the page doesn't need - for me, I don't need to prepare that. — Idris Elba

The real tragedy is that we're all human beings, and human beings have a sense of dignity. Any domination by one human over another leads to a loss of some part of his dignity. Is one's dignity that big it can be crumbled away like that? — Yusuf Idris

I'm not interested in making all-black films - I come from a very diverse culture; I want to work with every type of person. I work a lot with women executives because they seem to be a lot more open minded about that and a lot more progressive in that way. — Idris Elba

I think there's a tendency for actors like myself, and I don't mean to generalize myself, but I've played 'men's men,' if you will, characters that are simmering rage and calculated. There's a trend not to play anything that is opposed to that. — Idris Elba

Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond. So if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond. — Idris Elba

I try to fit in workouts whenever I can. — Idris Elba

I'm not a popular actor. I don't necessarily want to be famous. I want to be known for great work. I want to be known to surprise audiences. — Idris Elba

Clary grinned at Luke. "So you're not moving to Idris, I take it?"
"Nah," he said. He looked as happy as she'd ever seen him. "The pizza here is terrible. — Cassandra Clare